Running with the big dogs

Local trainer will be seen in televised national show.

Paul Clas shows English foxhound champion Wee Beginnings Ardent, during the 11th annual National Dog Show in Philadelphia, which will be televised at noon Thanksgiving Day and at 8 p.m. Friday.
(SUBMITTED )

Paul Clas trains champions, like Champion Alaman The Bees Knees. But Champion Alaman The Bees Knees, a standard poodle, is just one of many championship dogs that Clas trains and shows at various dog shows all along the East Coast.

Clas is the owner of Lakeside Pet Resort in West Manheim Township near Codorus State Park. He traveled last week to the 11th annual National Dog Show in Philadelphia to show 17 dogs of 8 different breeds.

The show will be televised on NBC on Thursday at noon after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and again on Friday at 8 p.m. This is the first time the show will air during prime time.

Four of the 17 dogs Clas presented in Philadelphia will be featured during the televised broadcast.

Standard poodle champion Alaman The Bees Knees is seen during competition at the 11th annual National Dog Show in Philadelphia.
(SUBMITTED )

Champion Alaman The Bees Knees, the 3-year-old standard poodle, will be featured in the non-sporting category.

The other dogs include Champion Wee Beginnings Ardent, a 5-year-old English foxhound to be featured in the hound group; Champion Bellefleet Living in the Fast Lane, a 2-year-old miniature poodle to be featured in the non-sporting category; and Bodeswell Miami Vice, a 10-month-old Chinese Crested to be featured in the toy group. All four dogs will be featured in their best of breed.

Three of the four are longtime champion show dogs, Clas said. Champion Alaman The Bees Knees, also known by his call name Simon, is a champion in three different countries, he added.

Advertisement

Bodeswell Miami Vice is the only one of the four that hasn't won a championship yet, thus not having "champion" listed at the beginning of his name.

Clas has attended the National Dog Show almost every year since it started in 2001. Clas also travels to dog shows all over the East Coast three or four times a month. He's been to the famed Westminster Kennel Club show in New York City and the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in Orlando, Fla.

He usually takes no more than 10 dogs to a show, but the National Dog Show is one of the larger, more prestigious shows, Clas said.

Dog shows started as a family affair, Clas said. His mother began training dogs and presenting at shows as a hobby, but it soon turned into a profession. Clas grew up going to shows every weekend, learning how to handle the dogs in the ring as well as training and caring for them. He was only 5 years old when he stepped in the ring to present a dog at a show for the first time.

Soon, Clas was following in his mother's footsteps. He started assisting other dog presenters at the shows before starting training and showing on his own in his 20s.

Many dog owners will contact Clas to get his opinion of whether their dog is championship material. But it's more than just good looks. Clas goes through the same process that judges do at the dog shows to determine whether a dog is fit to show.

"We want an excellent specimen in the ring." Clas said.

Although dog show judges do score based on whether a dog's looks are good representative of the breed, a dog's behavior and movement also impact the score, Clas said.

Clas trains the dogs to stand still for the judges for a long period of time and to trot at a steady pace alongside the presenter in the ring. They also have to behave well under pressure, because dog shows can be stressful. But overall, Clas said, the training and presenting is worth it.

"It's a lot of fun and really rewarding," Clas said.

Clas wasn't the only local who attended the National Dog Show. Nine other local dog owners were registered to show dogs, according to a list of dogs and presenters.

sweaver@eveningsun.com; 717-637-3736, ext. 151; Twitter: @weave90

Watch the show

The National Dog Show will air at noon on Thursday, following the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and on Friday at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Other local competitors

Several other local dog owners and their dogs were listed as having shown their dogs at the National Dog Show in Philadelphia.